Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif set a target of imparting skills training to one million young people over the next three years, while approving a series of initiatives to expand technical and vocational training opportunities across the province.
The decisions were taken at a special meeting chaired by the chief minister on Sunday, where she was given a detailed briefing on ongoing and proposed skill development projects.
The meeting approved the establishment of Punjab’s first modern Woodworking Centre of Excellence, alongside centres of excellence for electrical work, vehicle technology and digital marketing. It also approved certification programmes for agriculture and heavy machinery operators.
The chief minister also approved the launch of a CM Language Learning Programme, under which courses in 13 languages will be offered for the first time in Punjab. The province’s first Cleaning and Cleaner Academy will also be established to provide professional training in cleaning support, healthcare, hospitality and domestic services.
The meeting was informed that skills training had been completed for 400,000 young people in Punjab, with more than 45 per cent securing employment, while many others had opted to continue their education. Under the Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Department, nearly 175,000 trained youth had secured employment, in-cluding more than 38,000 who had found jobs abroad. Sector-wise figures showed that 113,333 individuals had completed training in manufacturing, with more than 50,000 securing immediate employment. In the IT sector, 111,607 young people had received training, of whom 49,588 were earning through em-ployment.
Similarly, 23,269 people completed training in agriculture and livestock, with 10,033 securing jobs. In the construction sector, 27,069 received training and 12,026 found employment, while 35,227 were trained in the energy sector, of whom 15,651 secured jobs. A total of 15,319 trainees completed hospitality and tourism courses, with 6,807 securing imme-diate employment.
